FS1 NFL analyst Emmanuel Acho on “SPEAK” warned the Indianapolis Colts not to start Rookie Quarterback Anthony Richardson in Week 1.
Emmanuel Acho Says Anthony Richardson Shouldn’t Start
In his monologue, Acho said the following.
“I think this is the worst decision the Colts could make not only for their organization, but also for Anthony Richardson….
For me it’s very simple if you have a player that’s not yet ready to play allow him to learn from the mistakes of others I believe a fool learns from his own so wiseman learns from the mistakes of others I would rather Anthony Richardson learn from other people’s mistakes as opposed to making his own.” Acho said
Acho listed off great quarterbacks who didn’t start in their rookie years.
“Let’s talk about the greatest quarterbacks currently playing the game or greatest quarterbacks who have ever played the game, Tom Brady didn’t start right away, Aaron Rodgers didn’t start right away, Lamar Jackson didn’t start right away, Josh Allen didn’t start right away, Patrick Mahomes didn’t start right away even the quarterbacks Justin Herbert he didn’t even start right away….
The one who I think of that did Joe Burrow but think about the past Joe Burrow had to traverse in college. Joe Burrow led the greatest team in history of college football to a 15-0 record even greater in my mind than the Miami Hurricanes so Joe Burrow had a different path that he had to traverse again Joe Burrow didn’t play the enterity of his rookie season he got hurt and still went to the bench to learn.”
Acho issued one final warning for the Indianapolis Colts:
“I think the biggest mistake the Colts can make is starting Anthony Richardson right away I don’t want him to incure the damage that will occur when he has bad plays.”
Should the Indianapolis Colts start Anthony Richardson Week 1?
The Indianapolis Colts are expected to be one of the NFL’s bottom feeders this season. However, something must be said to not throw your young, raw rookie quarterback to the wolves in his first start.
Richardson showed flashes of being a dynamic quarterback at Florida last season, but the biggest knock on him coming into the draft was his accuracy concerns. Richardson attempted higher difficulty throws than most quarterbacks (10.7) via Sports Info Solutions.
He ranked 95th in catchable rate (79.8%) and 106th in on-target rate (65.4%) among 114 FBS quarterbacks.
Richardson has drawn comparisons to Josh Allen and Mitchell Trubisky. The three players coming out of college were considered raw, but the difference is that Allen got drafted into the right situation that put some skill position players around him, and now he’s one of the top quarterbacks in the league.
Trubisky got drafted way too high for starting in only 13 games. Trubisky went to a bad situation, had limited skill position players around him, and ran an offense that didn’t fit his skillset.
The same situation could occur for Richardson because outside of Michael Pittman Jr., there’s not a lot of talent at receiver. This means assuming he comes back; the Colts could once again rely on Jonathan Taylor to carry the offense.
Gardner Minshew would be the best option at quarterback for the Colts. This is a different type of football than Richardson saw at Florida, and to Acho’s point, it would be best for the Indianapolis Colts to sit Richardson for the 2023 season to let him develop and not have him take on the burden of being a franchise quarterback right away.
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